Did anyone order a FC-04H based carbon tripod to the US? How long did it take to get to you after order? Happy? I just ordered one, but so far I haven't seen anyone's comments on the quality other then Vitaliy. Is anyone else happy or unhappy with their new tripod and head?

The tripod is fantastic... the travel bag is very good- and the tripod is very stable.

As for the head- at first he head is a bit tough- but smooths out after a bit of use. Need to spend more time on it to get it all worked out. @Athiril- this is a 'balanced' head- so it has a spring to equalise the weight.

I can't actually find the 'spare' spring- have emailed e-image, sure that its either an oversight on my or their part.

I tested the Weifeng video head yesterday. Maybe the design could have been better, but in terms of usability and hydraulics, it's really as good as a Sachtler!

Buy it!

There is also the brand E-image, which I was told is the Pro class under the Weifeng banner. The products include tripods, articulating arms and clamps. I have the arms and clamps, very solid, pro class indeed

Thanks for continue to negotiate these great deals. This offer is very tempting, but I'm more interested in the nest version of their carbon legs 323CT or 363CT with this same fluid head. Any chance of scoring something like this in a similar price range?

NEST legs are much pricier (due to modular approach, and much less volumes, I think)

I have both NEST legs and CT7402, and 7402 are much more solid. NEST legs are for traveling tasks, so you could save each gram and still have large diameter tubes and quite sturdy tripod that won't fail.

I've been researching these tripod kits - the one in the deal looks great but I've also been looking at the EI-7060A2 and the 7063AA which is pricier but has the stepped pan/tilt adjustment and counter balance and I'm looking to future proofing. Mr problem with these kits that I can't get an answer to is regarding the Quick Release plate options. I'm wanting to get a couple of extra QR plates and sliding mounts for other accessories such as the Glidecam but these E-Image heads (other than the 717) don't seem to have a flat bottom with the 1/4" and 3/8" screw holes... Any suggestions? Would my best option be to use the Manfrotto 577 QR plate and just mount that to the E-Image head QR plate? I'd rather not raise my camera too much and make counter balancing too hard.

Why is stepless better? Its been a few years, but I used to use a lot of high-end film production gear (I worked as a camera assistant on big Hollywood type shows years ago) and all the high-end Sachtler's, Cartoni's etc. had stepped adjustment. I don't remember if the O'Connor heads did or not.

Yes, my post was confusing but it's hard to explain! LOL Don't worry, I'm not such a clueless newbie as to try mounting 75mm bowl heads to flat bases :) What I'm asking about is if E-Image heads have a similar quick release option as the Manfrotto 577 like this:

I want a QR plate attached to the bottom of my camera (or my soon to be ordered Lanparte rig!) and several of the lower plates that the QR plate slides into that I can attach to other accessories such as Glidecam, slider and jib etc. so that I don't have to waste time unscrewing my camera from one accessory to the other. Make sense?

I can't tell from the pictures if the E-Image heads have this option since the sliding mount for the quick release plate appears to be curved and doesn't have screw threads for 3/8" and 1/4"

I've used both in the past. When I was working with big Arri 35mm BL4's, Panaflexes etc. we usually had a set of heavy-duty Ronford Baker legs (with the flat, notched Mitchell mount). These legs always had ground-level spreaders and honestly they were a pain in the ass. They made it hard to close the sticks when loading into the truck so we usually had to remove the spreaders. Removing something like this increased the risk of it getting left behind in the rush and meant we were always having to clean them.

There's a lot of debate as to which is better - a lot of people swear that ground-level spreaders are make for a more stable set-up but I'm not convinced, especially in regards to using a DSLR rig which is a helluva lot lighter than a Panaflex with a 1000' magazine on the back and a 3:1 zoom on the front!

If you're in studio based environments 100% of the time, MAYBE a ground-level spreader is better, if not, for me it's mid-level all the way.

I had a chance to use these tripods and a couple of the video heads at CES, courtesy of Lily. These are nice tripods and have a smooth feel to them in head movement. The fluid head is smaller and lighter than my huge 501 head or my studio tripod that I use for events, but seemed ideal for any DSLR and would likely be fine up to my XH A1.

The 717AH head on the carbon fiber legs would be a good package for hiking and any activity where you need to be moving around. You can see an enthusiastic review of the 717AH head on youtube at

He wishes he gotten it instead of the 701 head and ended up getting two of the 717AH heads.